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Monday, April 26, 2010

Blueberry Cobbler (Sugar-Free)

Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten Free was the first blog carnival I entered as a newbie blogger, so it holds a special place in my heart. I was delighted when I read that this month's theme is Breakfast in Bed, because that's my favorite meal of the day. As a child, breakfast was usually a quick bowl of cereal in bed...not at the table, mind you. I was so grumpy in the mornings that my mom let me stumble into the kitchen, get my cereal, and bring it back to my room. No one wanted to talk to me first thing in the a.m. Seriously. I like to think I've gotten a little better these days. At least I hope so. I make my green smoothie or grab a baked sweet potato, and often still eat it in bed. But that's because I live in an apartment in Brooklyn, and I don't have a kitchen table. Not because I'm too grumpy to look at anyone. But I digress. That wasn't the point of my story.

Where was I? Oh yes, breakfast. When I think breakfast, I think sweet. As a kid, occasionally on the weekends my mom would make pancakes, or on a really special day, she'd break out the waffle iron. I'd load my waffles with real maple syrup and butter, and eat until I couldn't manage another bite. If we had sleepovers with our friends, my parents would buy Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. And if you know my parents, you know that was really a treat. I still remember the taste of those doughnuts, even though I haven't had one in years. So now, when I think of special breakfasts, I think of sweets. I make waffles often, and have a few recipes like this one and this one. But for today, I wanted to try something different. Something sweet but a tad healthier than doughnuts and without the sugary addition of maple syrup. I started with this recipe from Celiac Teen and used an idea from The Frugally Rich Life for sweet milk, and came up with a blueberry cobbler. I usually think of cobblers as desserts, but this one is exactly what I was looking for in a breakfast. It's sweet and carbalicious, but also sugar-free and chock full of healthy fruit like blueberries and apples. Add in some quinoa flakes for a little protein punch and you've got a breakfast you can enjoy every day, and not feel the twinge of guilt you might have if you were to stop at Dunkin Donuts for a cruller.

Take your milk and soaked raisins out of the fridge and add the vinegar. Allow to sit while you prepare the flour mixture.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, mix together the quinoa flakes and milk/raisin mixture. Stir in the egg and oil.

Pour flour mix over quinoa flakes and fold together until just combined.

Fold in the apples. This is your topping.

Pour the blueberries in an *8 x 8 in. greased pan. Sift the tsp. of tapioca flour over the blueberries and shake the pan to coat them evenly.

Use a spoon to put the topping on the blueberries. You can use your fingers or the back of the spoon to pat it evenly over the blueberries like a crust.

Bake for an hour or until the crust is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the crust comes out clean. If the edges begin browning too much before the middle is done, you can put tinfoil over the edges.

* This makes a thick "loaf-like" topping that takes a while to bake. If you like your topping crumblier, you can use a larger pan. Just add more blueberries and spread the topping out thinner. It won't take as long to bake and will be more like a traditional crumble.

Serves 8-10

This recipe is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.
And now, for some fun news. Diane of The W.H.O.L.E Gang has been inspired by Jamie Oliver to start her own food revolution. From today until June 4th, 30 different bloggers will be posting their recipes and tips on how to cut down on the junk and eat more real food. The revolution begins today with one of my favorite bloggers, Shirley of Gluten Free Easily. Stop by to see what Shirley has to tell us! And come back every day to see what new tips you can find. I'll be at The W.H.O.L.E Gang with my own tips in June, and who knows, maybe we can even convince Jamie to stop by? Here's hoping...

That looks delicious, Iris! I was planning on posting a blueberry cobbler recipe myself pretty soon. Now you've motivated me to get going on it. I like that you put apples in it (not a big fan of raisins). And the quinoa, amaranth, and millet all ad whole grain goodness.

Beautiful, Iris. Just beautiful and, of course, brilliant, too! I love that you mentioned sometimes eating a baked sweet potato fr breakfast--me, too! ;-) And, special thanks for being part of Jamie's, our, everyone's fabulous Food Revolution. Extra special thanks for the kinds words on me and my blog! (You know I feel the same way ... always love coming here to the Daily Dietribe.)

Iris! Thanks for the link! :) This looks really good! What a good idea to use the milk for! I hadn't thought of using it for cobbler! Yum! I might have to try this out! :) I can't have anything really right now though-elimination diet-so it will have to wait a while...but yum! :)

And Linda (and anyone else who is wondering)...you don't taste the raisin flavor...:) They just sweeten the milk and then you can get rid of them or use them in something. :)

I love this recipe! I also love something sweet for breakfast! It makes the day better I think :) I like that you've put in some many different nutrients, but it looks like it would be easy to trick myself into believing that this was purely a dessert - not also really healthy! :)

I understand not having a kitchen table in your apartment. Before I moved to PA for an internship, I was living in Sunnyside, Queens. I always ate in my room on my bed! (I washed my comforter a lot :P)

Nice looking recipe. I plan to make it this weekend. Can you tell me what exactly are quiona flakes? Are they a breakfast cereal type product or actual flattened quiona grains. What can I substitute? Thanks!